(The following was filed for a Business Week story in December 1990.)

Canadian Snowbirds Discover Florida Panhandle

By Bob Andelman

Thousands of Canadian snowbirds have discovered a new winter nesting spot - the Florida Panhandle.

Once known as the Redneck Riviera or L.A. (for Lower Alabama) due to the summer tourists who flocked to these shores on the Gulf of Mexico from Atlanta, Memphis, Alabama and Baton Rouge, the beaches of northwest Florida are developing a new identity as the Emerald Coast. The change is due to an influx of winter visitors, the largest percentage of whom hail from Canada.

"They fill the place up," says James Olin, executive director of the Destin Chamber of Commerce. "They start to trickle in in November and December. Then they flood us from January to March. It's grown over the last two to three years. There's a waiting list at the larger resorts."

Destin, which has a year-round population of 7,500, swells to as many as 60,000 people at the height of the winter season.

In Fort Walton Beach, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Roger Peters says the signs of Canadians are everywhere, from Quebec and Ontario automobile license plates to hotels flying both the American and Canadian flags. "At our Rotary Club," he says, "after we do the Pledge of Allegiance, we raise our glasses and toast the Queen.

"We're real pleased with the Canadians," he says. "They're real good people. They don't spend as much as we'd like, but that's just typical of retirees."

Estimates suggest that between 60% and 70% of Canadian visitors to the Panhandle arrive by car. Commercial air transportation is also available at Okaloosa County Air Terminal in Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola Airport, which is a 40-minute drive.

Two adjacent counties in the Panhandle (so called because of its appearance on maps), Okaloosa and South Walton, are the focus of all this attention. Okaloosa (Destin, Fort Walton Beach) - population 154,000 - is the more urban, South Walton - where the county's total population is only 28,000 - decidedly rural.

"In our whole county, we probably have only 15 condominiums," says Jeff Ellis, special events coordinator for the South Walton Tourist Development Council. "A lot of them are town homes, gulf front homes. There are some areas (along the beaches) where there aren't any condos for five to 10 miles. This is an area for somebody who likes nature, being outside. Somebody who does not need glitz and artificial amusement activity to be content."

Both counties report a majority of lodgings to be booked solid for much of the coming snowbird season.

Canadians are attracted to the area's pristine, undeveloped beaches, the state's largest fleet of charter fishing boats, lack of congestion and quiet, family-oriented lifestyle. A growing number of golf courses hasn't hurt, either.

"Word of mouth is very strong," according to Olin. "A lot of them have tried South Florida and found North Florida provides a good price break. It's not even a vacation to many of them - half their life is here."

Business people in the Panhandle say their lodging and condo rates are sometimes up to 40% lower than comparable facilities in South and Central Florida. High season in the northwest part of the state is still considered to be summer, so winter visitors benefit from off-season rates. At least for now.

The 2,600-acre Sandestin Resort, eight miles east of Destin in South Walton County, is the largest resort in Northwest Florida. It combines 340 condos with a 400-unit Hilton Hotel and the 175-room Sandestin Inn. (Another 150 condo units on the property are owned and leased independently of the resort's management.)

"This corridor is going to be much lower priced than the rest of the state because we have opposite seasons," according Stacie Mills, director of marketing for the resort.

Climate may also be part of the attraction.

"I don't know if it's less tropical," says Olin. "It gets in the 90s, but there's always a good breeze."

"A lot of people think it's too hot in South Florida," says Ellis. "It's milder here. If we get cold, people can wear a sweater and play golf."

Area chambers of commerce and tourist development councils - which have spent relatively little on advertising compared to their windfall - are anxiously to show their appreciation to northern visitors. Concerts, socials, even continuing education programs have been presented with Canadian guests in mind. Snowbird Clubs here have thousands of members (1,000 in South Walton, 2,000 in Destin and 600 at the Sandestin Resort) and are quite active.

Olin says the Emerald Coast beaches are unmatched in the rest of the state.

"We call the area the 'Emerald Coast' because the water is an emerald blue-green color," he says. "The beaches are uncluttered - no shells even, so you can walk and not cut your feet. The sand is like sugar. When you walk, it squeaks - you can walk forever."